meplat uniformer....99cents

Let me start by saying that I have been trying to post this for 3 days, and I can't get the pictures to work. Ive posted pictures many times before, and its just not working... you will have to do the pictures manually...sorry. If an administrator sees what is wrong, or can correct it, please do. anyway...

Okay,
I guess the title is a little misleading, but if you are a reloader, with a few modest hand tools, and about an hour, you can have a very cheap, and very effevtive meplat uniforming tool.

What you Need:
Any bottlenecked rifle reloading die
A piece of brass at the end of its useful life for that die
Hacksaw
Bastard mill file wider than the die base, or as wide as the die base.
Epoxy, I prefer JB Quick, a faster setting version of JB weld
A grease or other substance that will function as a release agent for your epoxy.
Tape, electrical, or masking.
A pair of dowels a couple of thousandths larger than your bullet size. For this 30 caliber explination, thats a pair of 5/16 drillbits, with a shank size of .310.

Remove the decapping rod from the die, if the decapping pin is removeable as in RCBS dies, remove the pin from the rod as well.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/2.bmp[/image]

Insert your case into the die. At some point, the case will be stoped, and leave a portion of the case body, and the head exposed. Cases with lots of taper will stop faster.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/3.bmp[/image]

Mark this exposed section, and cut it off.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/4.bmp[/image]
use the file to cut the brass down flush with the die. Don't be afraid to bear on the die base, its hardened steel, and you aint gonna scratch it. You want the brass just a bit lower inside the die, not exactly flush, but you do want it square.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/5.bmp[/image]

Next you need to test fit the dowel you are using into the case. If you are doing a small diameter bullet on a large diameter case, such as, 270 in a 30-06, you will have to wrap the dowel with tape to bring it up to a friction fit. you want the end of the shank to be about .4-.5 inside of the end of the case when its in place, so wrap in an approprate location.

After carefully coating your dowel with release agent, fill the .4-.5 depth opening between the end of the case and the end of the dowel wih epoxy. once filled, you are going to invert the whole assembly, and press the filed case end on a firm surface, and press the dowel through the epoxy, and into contact with the same firm surface.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/8.bmp[/image]

This has the effect of squeezing the epoxy around the dowel, and up into the case. Leave the case and dowel in place untill the epoxy cures, for the first couple of hours, give the dowel a quarter turn twist ever 15min to half hour, to ensure that the dowel remains free.
Depending on the specific case, and dowel you are using, you may get a nearly full length fill in one pour, and a second pour, and a second dowel will not be needed. The easiest way to test this is to reinsert the decapping rod (minus the decapping pin) a short distance, and drop a bullet into the hole, point up. If its only tight fitting at the top of the case (with most of the bullet sticking out)

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/11.bmp[/image]

its time for another pour, if its tight all the way down, youre almost done. For a second pour, insert the origional dowel into its previous hole (again, coated with your release agent) and mark its depth with masking tape. you are going to repeat the same steps as before, except this time you are going to push the second dowel through the epoxy, and into contact with the first dowel. Mark the depth to the first dowel with tape on the second, so you can be sure to get it pushed all the way down.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/10.bmp[/image]

Twist once in a while as before. If you use too much epoxy, it will fill the void around the dowel, and still have a but of thickness of epoxy between the dowels. Not a ig problem, just drill it out when its dry.
Now, a bullet should fit snug all the way to the botom of the die.

To use, drop a bullet into the case in the die, and use the decapping rod to push it up untill the bullet just pokes out of the top. Adjust the rod for the amount of protrusion (the amount you want trimmed) and lock down the collet that holds it in place.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/12.bmp[/image]

After that, a couple of seconds with the file, and you're done.

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/abinok/13.bmp[/image]

If in use your case falls out too easily, slip a small piece of paper (.25x.25 or smaller) between the case and die.

I will admit that this tool is probably inferior to all other meplat uniformers. Some readers will probably even consider this whole thing a bit childish. However, I have been able to demonstrate reductions in vertical dispersion at 1350yds to the tune of 60% using this tool. OAL of uniformed bullets typically shows less than .0001" of variation.
If you have been considering trying some meplat uniformed bullets, give this design a try, then buy the monitor rifles version, its the best on the market, and not much more expensive than the various plastic ones being distributed.

All that being said, I can configure a variety of "caliber specific case inserts" for VERY little money, especially when compared with the price of buying all of the tools to trim those same calibers.

Ab I made the images links so they would be clickable then closeable as the readers go along.

Let me start by saying that I have been trying to post this for 3 days, and I can't get the pictures to work. Ive posted pictures many times before, and its just not working... you will have to do the pictures manually...sorry. If an administrator sees what is wrong, or can correct it, please do. anyway...

Okay,
I guess the title is a little misleading, but if you are a reloader, with a few modest hand tools, and about an hour, you can have a very cheap, and very effevtive meplat uniforming tool.

What you Need:
Any bottlenecked rifle reloading die
A piece of brass at the end of its useful life for that die
Hacksaw
Bastard mill file wider than the die base, or as wide as the die base.
Epoxy, I prefer JB Quick, a faster setting version of JB weld
A grease or other substance that will function as a release agent for your epoxy.
Tape, electrical, or masking.
A pair of dowels a couple of thousandths larger than your bullet size. For this 30 caliber explination, thats a pair of 5/16 drillbits, with a shank size of .310.

use the file to cut the brass down flush with the die. Don't be afraid to bear on the die base, its hardened steel, and you aint gonna scratch it. You want the brass just a bit lower inside the die, not exactly flush, but you do want it square.

Next you need to test fit the dowel you are using into the case. If you are doing a small diameter bullet on a large diameter case, such as, 270 in a 30-06, you will have to wrap the dowel with tape to bring it up to a friction fit. you want the end of the shank to be about .4-.5 inside of the end of the case when its in place, so wrap in an approprate location.

After carefully coating your dowel with release agent, fill the .4-.5 depth opening between the end of the case and the end of the dowel wih epoxy. once filled, you are going to invert the whole assembly, and press the filed case end on a firm surface, and press the dowel through the epoxy, and into contact with the same firm surface.

This has the effect of squeezing the epoxy around the dowel, and up into the case. Leave the case and dowel in place untill the epoxy cures, for the first couple of hours, give the dowel a quarter turn twist ever 15min to half hour, to ensure that the dowel remains free.
Depending on the specific case, and dowel you are using, you may get a nearly full length fill in one pour, and a second pour, and a second dowel will not be needed. The easiest way to test this is to reinsert the decapping rod (minus the decapping pin) a short distance, and drop a bullet into the hole, point up. If its only tight fitting at the top of the case (with most of the bullet sticking out)

its time for another pour, if its tight all the way down, youre almost done. For a second pour, insert the origional dowel into its previous hole (again, coated with your release agent) and mark its depth with masking tape. you are going to repeat the same steps as before, except this time you are going to push the second dowel through the epoxy, and into contact with the first dowel. Mark the depth to the first dowel with tape on the second, so you can be sure to get it pushed all the way down.

Twist once in a while as before. If you use too much epoxy, it will fill the void around the dowel, and still have a but of thickness of epoxy between the dowels. Not a ig problem, just drill it out when its dry.
Now, a bullet should fit snug all the way to the botom of the die.

To use, drop a bullet into the case in the die, and use the decapping rod to push it up untill the bullet just pokes out of the top. Adjust the rod for the amount of protrusion (the amount you want trimmed) and lock down the collet that holds it in place.

If in use your case falls out too easily, slip a small piece of paper (.25x.25 or smaller) between the case and die.

I will admit that this tool is probably inferior to all other meplat uniformers. Some readers will probably even consider this whole thing a bit childish. However, I have been able to demonstrate reductions in vertical dispersion at 1350yds to the tune of 60% using this tool. OAL of uniformed bullets typically shows less than .0001" of variation.
If you have been considering trying some meplat uniformed bullets, give this design a try, then buy the monitor rifles version, its the best on the market, and not much more expensive than the various plastic ones being distributed.

All that being said, I can configure a variety of "caliber specific case inserts" for VERY little money, especially when compared with the price of buying all of the tools to trim those same calibers.

4ked,
Thanks for the help... makes it much easier to read. I finially got so frustrated that I posted it and hoped somebody could figure it out...
buffalobob,
I don't know if it makes them a uniform area or not.... I don't have anything that reads finer than .0001! All I know for sure is its cheap, and it produces results on par with the advertised effects of the major meplat uniformers on the market.
Yes, the die is completly useable after its all said and done. Just pop out the epoxied case, put your decapping pin back on (where applicable) and readjust for approprate decapping pin protrusion. The die in the pictures is a rcbs .303 British die, that regurarly loads ammo for both my brother in law, and one of my cousins. The die surface is so hard, that even with the edge of the file, and heavy pressure, I can't even scratch it. Short answer, absoultely stll useable.